


Grey's Hogwarts

by olliehollie



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Romance, Shooting, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22420708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olliehollie/pseuds/olliehollie
Summary: Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world. Correction: was. Grey’s Anatomy Hogwarts AU following the events of the season 6 shooting.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Grey's Hogwarts

_ Voldemort: Foe or Fool? _

_ by Derek Shepherd _

“Are you kidding me?” Meredith Grey slammed the Daily Prophet down onto the Gryffindor table with a scowl on her face. She spun around in her seat to glare at the back of her boyfriend’s head at the Ravenclaw table. After realizing that Derek couldn’t see her glare, Meredith turned back to the thing that had caused her anger in the first place. The article that Derek had submitted to the Daily Prophet, despite Meredith’s protesting, had actually been published. 

“This is ridiculous,” Meredith muttered to herself, angrily shoving the paper into her bookbag and slinging it over her shoulder. She scanned the Great Hall for the person she needed the most at that moment. 

“Cristina,” she sighed when she finally found her best friend leaning against a wall in the hallway outside the Great Hall.

“Mere,” Cristina responded, nose stuck deep in her Potions textbook. 

“I’m worried about Derek,” Meredith huffed. “He’s been acting really irrational lately.” 

“He didn’t ask you to marry him, did he?” Cristina asked absent-mindedly, only looking up to watch an owl a fly past. “Can’t say I miss having a boyfriend, the single life is treating me well.”

“You and Owen will be fine in a couple of days, this thing with Teddy will blow over soon. And no, Derek didn’t propose, for your information. I’m talking about the stupid articles he’s been sending to the Daily Prophet. Believe it or not, they’ve actually been publishing them.” She waved the newspaper angrily in Cristina’s face.

“And what’s so bad about that?” Cristina dodged the flying paper and snatched it out of Meredith’s hand.

Meredith sighed. “All he writes about is anti You-Know-Who sentiment. Stuff that could put him in danger and even get him killed. Plus I don’t doubt that Webber would take away his Head Boy title if these antics continue.”

“Quit it with the formalities, Mere, his name is Voldemort.”

“Cristina!” Meredith gasped. 

“Fine, fine, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, coward. And Shepherd has always been an idiot, I thought we established this,” Cristina said as she waved at one of her housemates. Reed Adamson responded with a smirk and a lazy salute as she and April Kepner walked arm-in-arm into the Great Hall for lunch. “But he’s not stupid enough to put you or himself into danger.”

“I guess you’re right,” Meredith sighed, running a hand through her ponytail.

“Of course I am. I’m a genius.” Cristina checked her watch. “A genius who is going to be late for Divination.” She shook her head. “What a stupid class. Remind me why I ever decided that Divination would be a valuable use of my time?”

“Because Alex bet that you wouldn’t survive a whole year of it so you signed up just to prove him wrong,” Meredith said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Cristina snapped her fingers. “That’s right. Glad there’s at least one reason I’m taking that stupid class. Karev’s gonna owe me a large sum of money in a couple of months,” she rubbed her hands eagerly. “I gotta go, see you later Mere!”

“Bye,” Meredith said half-heartedly as her friend sped off towards the Divination tower. She collected her thoughts before strolling down the hall. She climbed up a couple staircases until she came across what she was looking for. 

“Hey, Mum,” Meredith mumbled, approaching a painting positioned over the stairwell. 

“Meredith, you’re looking well,” the painting of her mother responded primly. She squinted. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Free period,” Meredith lied through her teeth. 

A group of fifth years ran past. They slowed as they approached Ellis Grey’s portrait. “Headmaster,” they mumbled, bowing their heads. They resumed their quick pace as soon as they had passed Meredith. 

“They need to stop doing that,” Ellis rolled her eyes. “Richard is the new headmaster and he’s been doing just fine filling my shoes.”

“Sure, sure. Hey Mum, how did you and Dad make things work? I mean, he was an Auror always putting himself into danger and you were the Headmaster of Hogwarts. That was really hard to deal with, right?”

“We didn’t make things work,” her mother said and Meredith frowned. “We separated, Meredith, you know this.”

“Do I ever,” Meredith muttered, feeling worse than she had before. 

“Enough of discussing my marriage, this is ridiculous. Tell me, how are classes going? Have you finally decided on a career path you want to take? Auror? Curse breaker? A position at the Ministry, perhaps?”

“Mum,” Meredith groaned, not at all in the mood to discuss jobs with her overachieving mother.

“Grey!” A voice shouted from not too far away. Meredith and her mother looked to see Alex Karev walking towards them, a frown on his face. “You promised that you would study with me for Transfig-” Alex stopped when he realized who Meredith had been speaking to. “Headmaster Grey, I apologize. You’re looking well today, I hope it’s not a problem if I steal Meredith away?”

“Not at all, Karev,” Ellis rolled her eyes a second time. “And don’t call me Headmaster.”

“Yes Headmas-I mean Ma’am. Mere, let’s go.” He grabbed Meredith’s arm and steered her away from the painting.

“You have good timing,” Meredith sighed, massaging her temples. “I don’t know why I even try to ask for her advice.”

“Dude,” Alex scoffed, “she’s the former Headmaster, you’d be an idiot if you didn’t ask for her help once in a while.”

“I guess,” Meredith said. She shook her head, as if trying to ward off her worries about Derek, and plastered a fake smile onto her face. “We’d better use this free period to our advantage, let’s go study.”

“Mere, you don’t have a free period,” Alex gently reminded her.

She frowned. “Oh yeah.”

“You okay?” Alex asked, squinting at her. 

“Just peachy,” Meredith lied through her fake smile. She quickly changed the subject. “So I heard that you and Lexie are official, spill all the details.” She laughed when Alex groaned and launched into a rant about girls being annoying. 

xxx 

“Sloan!” Callie Torres called out as she exited the Transfiguration classroom and spotted him. 

Mark Sloan turned around to see her running towards him. “Torres,” he addressed her with a smirk. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“No, it is not a pleasure,” Callie sighed, walking beside him. “Arizona’s been acting weird all day. It’s like she doesn’t even care that we broke up or something.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Mark raised an eyebrow. 

“No!” Callie frowned. “I mean yes, I mean…I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you the one giving her the cold shoulder?” He asked as they dodged a wild group of second years.

“I’m trying to show her that I’m doing just fine without her,” she huffed, tugging on the sleeve of her Gryffindor robes.

“And are you?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

“No,” she sighed, defeated. “But if you tell her that, I’ll kick your ass.”

“Come on, Torres. You know that I’m your man, I won’t tell her. But I do think that it isn’t healthy for you to keep these feelings bottled up. Let them out, sister.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Mark. Mark?” She asked when he didn’t respond. She turned to him and saw that he was staring longingly at Lexie Grey. Callie slapped his chest and he snapped out of his trance to glare at her. “Cut that out, Sloan, it’s creepy.”

“I miss her,” he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“This ‘pining after Little Grey routine’ is getting old. You know that she’s with Karev, just leave her be.”

“Oh I’ll try,” Mark muttered. Callie slapped him over the head and he winced. “Shit!”

“That was for ruining things with Teddy,” Callie sniffed, sticking her nose up in the air. “Did you really have to sleep with Adamson?”

Mark shrugged. “Felt right in the moment.”

“Pig,” Callie scoffed.

xxx 

“Is it just me or is Professor Hahn trying to kill us with all this Potions homework?” Alex moaned, tossing his textbook onto the library table that he, Reed, and Cristina were currently occupying. 

“It’s not just you,” Reed sighed, dragging her palms down the sides of her face. “The Potions N.E.W.T next year is gonna kick our asses.”

“Poor little babies,” Cristina simpered. “Now shut up, I’ve got work to do.” 

“How are you not stressing?” Reed asked, narrowing her eyes. “Hahn’s workload is eating me alive, why are you so calm?”

Cristina sighed, setting down her book. “Because I have these,” she said, pulling a stack of paper out of her bag and setting it in front of Reed and Alex.

“No way,” Alex gasped, leafing through the papers. 

“Hunt gave you his N.E.W.T. Potions notes?” Reed asked, astonished as she tugged them out of Alex’s hands. “I thought you two were fighting?”

“Oh we are. That doesn’t stop me from using his notes though,” Cristina said smugly, taking the papers from her friends. “I’ve been studying them for weeks and they’ve been remarkably helpful.”

“Hunt’s notes are legendary,” Reed eyed the stack of paper hungrily.

Alex saw her expression. “Whoa there, those aren’t for you. Yang’s going to let me read them because she likes me better. Right, Yang?”

“In your dreams, Karev,” Reed scoffed. “Have you ever even spoken to Yang’s boyfriend?”

“Have you?” Alex retorted. 

“Children, children, enough bickering. You’re giving me a headache,” Cristina mumbled, chomping on a scone as she looked over her parchment scroll. “Fight over them somewhere else, I’m trying to get shit done.”

“Gladly,” Alex said as he sprang up from his chair and snatched the notes, bolting away from their table.

“Karev, those notes are mine!” Reed screeched, leaping to her feet and knocking over a stack of textbooks in the process. She sprinted after Alex angrily. 

“Why can’t those bloody idiots just share?” Cristina asked the now-empty table.

Jackson Avery raised his eyebrows from where he and Charles Percy sat not too far away at a different library table. He dipped his quill into the ink pot beside him and shook his head. “You sure Adamson is the one, mate? I mean she’s great and all, but she’s a little,” he winced as they watched Reed leap onto Alex’s back and begin smacking him over the head with a textbook, “...violent. Can’t you pine after someone else?”

“I can’t get her out of my head,” Charles moaned, covering his face with his hands. “Karev’s a total arse, leading her on like this.”

“Not gonna lie, mate, I don’t really think she’s into him,” Jackson supplied as the two Slytherins tumbled to the ground, Reed still hitting Alex with a furious look on her face. “For your benefit, though,” he added hastily. Charles had been head over heels in love with Reed Adamson ever since the three of them along with April Kepner had met on the train during their first year at Hogwarts. Jackson shook his head and smiled as he remembered the bet he and April had going on when Charles would spill his feelings to Reed. 

“I guess so. He’s still an idiot,” Charles said, staring daggers at the pile of flailing limbs on the floor. 

“Yeah, an idiot…” Jackson said warily as he watched Reed continue to scream at a laughing Alex. 

“Finally!” Reed said, jumping off the floor. She held the notes triumphantly over her head, one foot resting securely on Alex’s back. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Alex muttered in a muffled voice, his cheek pressed uncomfortably against the ground. “I get those notes in half an hour, got it?”

“Fine. But only because I feel sorry for you,” Reed spun away, clutching the papers to her chest. She passed by Charles and Jackson’s table and smirked. “Charlie, Avery, always a pleasure. Sorry you had to see that.”

Charles stared speechlessly at her short skirt as she sauntered away. From his place on the floor, Alex was trying not to do the same. Jackson rolled his eyes, wondering when his male classmates had become so senseless and chauvinistic. 

“Charlie,” Charles moaned to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jackson patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

“You and Karev solve your petty little problem?” Cristina asked as Reed sat down, smirking.

“You could say that,” she responded in an overly-cheerful voice. 

“Child of the Devil,” Alex addressed Reed as he returned to the table, rubbing his back.

“That’s rich coming from you, Evil Spawn,” Cristina said snarkily.

“Shut up, Twisted Sister.” He said to Cristina then pointed at Reed. For such a tiny person, you sure weigh a lot.” 

“Bugger off, Karev, no I don’t. You know you love me, you’re just a sore loser,” Reed sang, keenly studying Owen Hunt’s famous Potions notes. 

xxx 

Arizona Robbins plopped down on the windowsill with a huff.

“What’s up?” Teddy Altman asked her warily from her spot next to her. She shut her textbook. Arizona gave her a look and Teddy sighed. “Ah, more Callie problems?”

“My Callie problems are no different than the last time I talked to you, and that’s the problem.” Arizona grumbled. “Thank God she dropped out of DADA last year, I don’t think I could’ve faced her in class today.”

“Things will get better,” Teddy said in a soothing voice.

“I sure hope so,” Arizona sighed, twirling her hair. “But enough about me, how are you doing, sweetie?” She asked sympathetically.

“Just fine!” Teddy said in a cheerful voice.

“Say what?” Arizona raised her eyebrows. “You and Sloan broke up. Listen, he’s a piece of shit man whore, you can do so much better than him.”

“I know, that’s why I’m so okay with this,” Teddy replied, twirling her wand in the air. “It’s for the best that we’re done, we want different things.”

“I’ll say,” Arizona muttered then plastered a smile onto her face. “Well good for you, if you’re happy then I’m happy! I bet Hunt went and kicked Sloan’s ass for you, huh?”

Teddy dropped her happy act and her face crumpled. She dropped her face into her hands miserably.

“Uh oh, what’s wrong now?” Arizona asked frantically, patting her friend’s back. 

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Teddy waved her hand. “Things are really complicated right now and Yang definitely hates my guts but other than that I’m fine.”

“Yang hates everybody’s guts,” Arizona comforted her. “Don’t take it personally.”

“You’re right,” Teddy barked out a laugh. “Wow, I’m a mess right now.”

“You aren’t the only one,” Arizona sighed. “What’s wrong with us? You and I are two hot seventh years, we should be thriving this year!”

“If only,” Teddy muttered. “I’m so done talking about this right now.”

“Me too. So what did you get on that Transfiguration essay?”

  
  


xxx 

“Look at her,” Owen Hunt scoffed to Jackson during dinner that night. 

Jackson, unsure of who he was talking about, scanned the Great Hall. His eyes finally rested on Cristina and he understood. He then frantically began searching for a new seat at the Gryffindor table before Owen began ranting again about Cristina-

“I mean, how can she be acting so happy right now? We’re in a fight right now, she should be crying or screaming or something.”

Jackson nodded, shoving a large spoonful of soup into his mouth to prevent himself from having to speak. 

“This is so unfair,” Owen grumbled as he watched Cristina pelt Alex Karev with dinner rolls as Reed looked on, smirking. “The whole Teddy thing is not my fault, it’s Teddy’s.”

Jackson looked between Owen and Teddy, who was sitting further down the table blatantly ignoring Owen. He had absolutely no idea what Owen was talking about but the ginger kept on talking anyway.

“Things were just fine before this mess. I mean, why did this have to happen now?”

“Beats me,” Jackson mumbled.

“I think I’m going to talk to her tomorrow about all this,” Owen said decidedly. 

“You’re the man, Owen,” Jackson muttered, punching Owen’s shoulder half-heartedly. He saw April stand up from the Ravenclaw table and gather her things. “I gotta go,” he said hastily, springing up from his seat and beelining towards her. 

Reed beat him to April, linking her arm with hers. 

“Sorry, Avery, you can’t steal her away from me that easily,” Reed winked, pulling April towards the door.

“Hey guys, wait up,” Charles jumped up from the Hufflepuff table and joined them.

“Now the whole bunch is here,” Reed rolled her eyes but she smiled. “I’m tired as hell and I have prefect rounds tonight, I’m definitely gonna go and take a nap.”

“I’ll walk you to your dormitory,” Charles said eagerly as the four of them left the Great Hall.

She laughed. “Don’t be stupid, Charlie. Your dormitory is on the other side of the school, I can walk myself to my room.”

“It would be a pleasure,” he insisted. 

Reed looked at him, surprised. “All right, then. See you later April, Avery.”

“Later, dudes,” Charles said absent-mindedly, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. The four of them split, Charles and Reed heading for the dungeons and April and Jackson making their way towards the staircase.

“Don’t forget to do that Charms essay, Reed!” April called out. Reed waved her hand as she and Charles disappeared down the hall.

“Charles is hopeless,” Jackson chuckled as he and April climbed the stairs. 

“I feel bad for him,” April said sympathetically, though she giggled. “Reed is so oblivious.”

“You can say that again. How’s your N.E.W.Ts studying going?” He asked.

She made a face. “It should be going better, I didn’t expect to be this busy during sixth year. What about you?”

He shrugged. “About the same as you. Maybe we could study together tonight?”

“Really?” April asked hopefully, then her face fell. “Darn, I have a huge Potions essay that’s due tomorrow and I’ve got a ton of work to do on it. I’m heading to the Library now.”

Jackson shrugged and smiled. “No problem. Another time, then?”

“Yeah,” April smiled, “another time.”

  
  


xxx 

“Hey you,” a voice came from behind Alex as he was searching for an empty classroom to study in. He spun around to see Lexie walking towards him. She held up her hands, a slight smile on her face. “No need to worry, it’s just me.”

“Thought you were a Death Eater,” Alex mumbled, continuing his trek down the hall.

Lexie quickened her pace to keep up with him. “Ha, as if. Where are you headed?” She asked nonchalantly. 

“A quiet place to study for N.E.W.Ts,” Alex responded. “With  _ no distractions _ ,” he added, emphasizing the last part. 

“You aren’t referring to me, are you?” She asked, a small smile playing at her lips.

Alex tested a door to his left, tugging the handle. It flew open, revealing an empty classroom. He stepped inside. “You’re exactly what I’m referring to, now get lost. 

“You sure are a gentleman,” the smile on Lexie’s face turned sour. “I’ll just leave you then, see you later.”

“Wait,” Alex sighed, grabbing her wrist as she turned to go. “I really do need to study and I have prefect rounds tonight. But meet me outside the Slytherin dormitory at 11:30? I’ll kick my roommates out of the dorm.”

“Really?” The smile slowly returned to her face.

“How does that sound?”

“11:30 is pretty late, isn’t it?” She mused, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah? You got a problem with that?” He asked coyly, one corner of his mouth turning up slightly.

“No,” she retorted stubbornly. 

“Good,” Alex’s face broke into a full smile. “I’ll see you then, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she responded breathlessly. She turned to go and he caught her wrist one more time. “What now?”

“The studying could wait 20 minutes, what do you say?” He said nonchalantly.

Lexie grinned and leaned in to kiss him. Their kiss intensified and soon they were wrapped in a heated embrace. She kicked the door shut with her foot as Alex pulled her onto one of the classroom desks. 

xxx 

Teddy looked up from her notes with a smile as someone approached her. It quickly slipped off her face when she saw who it was. “Owen.” She jumped to her feet and began to pack up her things. “I was just leaving,” she said hastily, gathering her notes into her arms. She silently cursed herself for deciding to study in the Gryffindor Common Room instead of somewhere else. 

“Wait, you don’t have to leave,” Owen said quickly as she turned to go up to her dormitory.

“I’m tired, I think I might try to get some sleep. Goodnight,” she lied through her teeth.

“But it’s so early,” Owen frowned. “You always stay up late studying. Come on, Teddy, you can’t keep ignoring me.”

“Yes, yes I can,” Teddy said angrily, putting one hand on her hip. “You made it very clear how you feel about me, it seems that the best thing I can do is back off.”

“That’s not the best thing you can do,” Owen said, his voice getting slightly louder. “Bloody hell, Teddy, you overheard a fight between me and Cristina and now both of you won’t speak to me. This is between me and Cristina, it doesn’t concern you!”

“You told Headmaster Webber that you wouldn’t be Head Boy because I was appointed Head Girl. You turned down an amazing position because you didn’t want to share duties with me. All because I told you that I loved you. You gave Derek Shepherd your position because you didn’t want to face me. So yes, this certainly does concern me.” Teddy was yelling at that point. “And you didn’t even tell me!”

“Stay out of this,” Owen pulled at his hair in frustration. “It’s been done, that’s all there is to it.”

“I wish I could take back what I said to you, okay? I wish I hadn’t told you that I loved you. Then everything would be fine. But I can’t, okay? That’s the sad truth, I can’t take back what I said. So I’m sorry.” And with that, Teddy spun on her heels and ran up the staircase to the seventh year girl’s dormitory.

Owen let out a frustrated yell. He kicked the nearest armchair in anger and turned away from Teddy’s retreating figure. From the sofa, Callie and Jackson were staring at him, wide-eyed and mouths agape. 

xxx 

“Marry me, Meredith,” Derek whispered into his girlfriend’s ear. 

“Very funny, Derek,” Meredith mumbled, stroking his cheek absent-mindedly.

“I’m serious, marry me.”

Meredith sat up. The pair was currently nestled in a bed in the Room of Requirement. Following complaints from both Meredith and Derek’s roommates, they had decided that the Room of Requirement was the best place for them to do their business. The room would transform into a luxurious suite at a simple request made by Derek. “You can’t be serious.” 

“I am, though,” Derek said, propping himself up on his elbows and staring into Meredith’s eyes. 

“But I’m only seventeen and you’ve just turned eighteen. We’re still in school, Derek.”

“We’re both of age, I graduate in a couple of months and you in a year, why shouldn’t we get married?” 

“You’re crazy,” Meredith said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and reaching for her clothes. “I’m not gonna be the married seventh year girl next year.”

“I’m not crazy. Meredith, listen. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, that hasn’t changed. There’s a war brewing out there and who knows what’ll happen? I don’t want something to happen to either of us before we officially tie the knot.” 

“Nothing will happen to either of us if you just stop writing those stupid newspaper pieces,” Meredith snapped, pulling her robes over her skirt and blouse. 

“I thought we agreed to stop fighting over this,” Derek sighed, rubbing his face with one hand. 

“Well, we didn’t. I love you Derek, I don’t want you risking your life and future over some newspaper articles.” Meredith said, tugging her shoes onto her feet and standing up. 

“They aren’t just some stupid articles, Mere, they’re relevant,” Derek argued. 

“They’re dangerous,” Meredith corrected, hands on her hips. “The fact that you want to get married before something happens to you is proof of that.”

“Meredith, please. My mom has that connection at the Daily Prophet, why shouldn’t I seize an opportunity like writing for them?”

“No, Derek, you aren’t thinking straight. Talk to me when you are. Listen, it’s almost curfew and I’m heading back to my dormitory. You should do the same.” And with that, Meredith fastened her cloak and left the Room of Requirement. The door shut behind her with a bang.

“Bloody hell,” Derek sighed to himself, slapping himself for being so careless.

xxx 

Hidden away in a vacant third floor classroom, a Vanishing Cabinet’s door suddenly swung open. One by one, a dozen hooded figures stepped out. They looked around with hungry eyes as they surveyed their surroundings.

“We did it,” one man breathed out. “We’re actually back in Hogwarts.”

“Never thought I’d come back to this dump,” another scoffed, dusting off his shoulder.

“I didn’t even know Hogwarts had a Vanishing Cabinet,” a third one marvelled, smirking.

“I found it my fifth year. It’s been broken for years but thanks to some Slytherin connections here, it’s up and running again.”

“What now, Bourtier?” One person asked and suddenly all eyes were on the young man with the scar across his face.

“Split up, men. We have one job, to get that Shepherd bastard. I don’t care what it takes, find him. Do what you have to do, kill who you have to kill, but keep Shepherd alive. Got it?” The men around him nodded eagerly. “Good, now go. Gibbon, take Baxtresser and Emory. Carrow, you have Lee and Orden. Rowle, Vesper and Doane. Clark and Martel, you’re with me.” Clark and Martel moved to stand beside him. Bourtier nodded at the two of them and lifted his wand. His spell knocked the door open and the Death Eaters filtered out into the hallway, dividing into their assigned groups as they went. 

Clark, Bourtier and Martel veered left, entering a dark corridor. They trudged down the long hallway in silence. All three of them were eager to find Shepherd and bring him to the Dark Lord.

“You’re not supposed to be up here,” a voice suddenly came from behind them. They spun around to find a petite girl standing with crossed arms and a scowl on her face. She looked at them with a raised eyebrow, her prefect badge glinting in the faint moonlight. 

“It’s past curfew, you aren’t supposed to be here,” she repeated when they failed to answer her. Her brow suddenly furrowed. “Wait, you aren’t students. What are you doing here?”

“Get lost, girlie. This is none of your business.” Clark scoffed.

“Yes it is,” she said, creeping closer. “I’m on patrol tonight and I found something in the halls that doesn’t belong. You need to leave or else I’ll find Headmaster Webber and tell him that there are strangers lurking in the halls.”

“Listen here, we aren’t looking for trouble,” Clark said as he held up a hand to stop Martel from advancing towards the girl. “We’re looking for Derek Shepherd, where is he?”

“Derek?” She asked, brows furrowed. What did these strange men want with the seventh year Ravenclaw? They looked like they meant business with their dark robes and menacing grimaces. Suddenly realizing she could be in danger, she drew her wand from her sleeve. 

“ _ Expelliarmus!”  _ One of the men cried and her wand flew into his open palm. He dropped in on the ground, kicking it away.

“Wait, I remember this one. Adamson,” one of the Death Eaters pointed his wand at Reed, who quivered when he said her name. “She’s an abomination, a mudblood Slytherin.”

“Bourtier?” Reed gasped as she suddenly recognized the person. The man who was once a seventh year Slytherin kicking around third year Reed now had his wand pointed menacingly at her. He said the word “mudblood” with just as much anger and spite as he had back when they were housemates. She now wished she hadn’t convinced Alex to patrol the floor below so they would finish their rounds faster.

“Mudbloods don’t belong in Slytherin. The Dark Lord would be displeased to hear about this,” the man beside Bourtier hissed. 

“Death Eaters,” Reed realized aloud, fear evident in her voice as she slowly backed away. “Webber will hear about this, Bourtier.” she said shakily. 

“Don’t say my name, mudblood!” Bourtier spat at her. “Now tell us where Derek Shepherd is.” They surrounded Reed, moving in.

“What do you want with him?” She asked shakily, praying that Alex was nearby. 

“Let’s just say that he’s made our enemy list with those articles he’s been publishing,” Martel hissed. “Now where is he?”

“How would I know?” Reed said, remembering how she had read Derek’s article that morning at breakfast. She had thought he was very brave, writing a piece like that.

“We know that you know,” Clark said, jabbing his wand at her.

“Bourtier,  _ Ivan please _ ,” she pathetically begged, her back hitting the stone corridor wall as the Death Eaters closed in around her. She was trapped. 

“Don’t speak my name!” Bourtier bellowed, pointing his wand at her.“I’ve had enough of this,  _ Avada Kedavra!” _

Reed crumpled to the floor, her eyes suddenly vacant of life. 

“Adamson, are you done yet? I said I’d meet up with Lexie soon and she’ll be bloody pissed if I stand her up again,” Alex called as he rounded the corner. He stopped in his tracks as he saw three unfamiliar men huddled over Reed’s lifeless body. They spun around to face him, wands brandished. “Adamson?” He said urgently, approaching them quickly. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“ _ Stupefy!”  _ One man shouted as his companion cried “ _ Sectumsempra!”  _ Alex’s body took the impact of both spells as he slammed into a wall and then to the ground. He couldn’t move, frozen to his spot on the floor. Blood was spurting out of his chest where the curse had hit him. Alex was unable to do anything but stare at the cold body of Reed as the three Death Eaters surrounded him and looked down. 

“Now why did you have to go do that, Clark?” Bourtier tsked. “He’ll bleed all over the floor and make a mess, we should just kill him.”

“You know that  _ Sectumsempra _ is my specialty,” Clark responded, twirling his wand. “Besides, he’ll bleed to death before anyone finds him.”

“Let’s go, boys. The others have probably found Shepherd by now.” 

The three Death Eaters stepped over Alex’s body, careful to avoid the pool of blood forming around him.

xxx 

Alex Karev stared ahead at the body of his friend. 

Him, Reed and Cristina were close despite their constant bickering. Though their brash personalities scared off some people, they were naturally drawn together because of it. Alex felt bad for the way he had treated Reed. Sure, her of all people could take it. But as he stared at her dead body, he wished he had been more sensitive. They had done practically everything together. Both being sixth year Slytherins, they shared most of their classes. They had been on the Slytherin Quidditch team together for the past five years, him a Beater and her the Seeker. They ate meals together, studied together, spent nearly all their time together. 

He and Reed had fucked before, on multiple occasions. She was his rebound of choice. It had happened when Olivia dumped him, when Izzie had transferred to Beauxbatons, when him and Lexie were on a short break the other day. Hell, they had even done it when Alex heard a rumor that idiotic Hufflepuff, Percy, was pining after Reed. Because that’s who he was, jealous and unexplainably possessive of the people he cared about. Though, as he looked back on it, it wasn’t a very caring act. Reed had made it a habit during fourth year to flirt regularly with Alex. Though she had stopped completely the previous year, Alex suddenly wondered if she had actually liked him. He suddenly felt like an arse for the many times he had harshly shot her down. Perhaps there was a time when she had truly liked him, or maybe it was his guilt convincing him that she had.

There was a slight burning sensation in his fingers and toes. It began creeping up his arms and legs. Mustering all of his strength, he wiggled his fingers. Slowly but surely, he was regaining control of his body. He nearly cried out in relief, the stunner spell was wearing off. As he regained feeling in his body, he began feeling the effects of the curse that the Death Eater, Clark, had hit him with. He growled, biting his lip to keep from screaming out as he felt the pain shooting through his side. He needed to get to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible.

“I’ll be back, Adamson,” he grunted, wiggling himself onto his stomach and army-crawling towards the Hospital Wing. “I won’t leave you here.” He could feel his body growing weaker as the blood seeped out of his wounds. Unable to take the pain he flipped over onto his back on the stairwell landing he had made it to. He felt his eyes closing and willed himself to stay awake. As he slowly lost consciousness, he prayed that someone would find his body before he bled out. 

xxx 

April checked her watch and cursed.  _ 11:38 _ , it was well past curfew. As she finally looked up from the essay she had been scribbling she realized that she was the only person left in the library. Hours earlier she had situated herself in a dark corner to crank out her Potions essay and it seemed like time had flown by. The room was dark except for the glow coming from her wand. Even the diligent Madam Pince was nowhere to be seen. 

“Lexie is going to kill me,” she mumbled to herself as she hastily shoved her things into her book bag. She had promised her housemate that the two of them would study for Charms in the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was well past the time that April had told Lexie to meet her and she knew that Lexie would be furious. Lexie had a photographic memory and she was a year younger, there wasn’t really a reason for her to study anyway, April told herself.

After snatching up her last quill, April slung her bag over her shoulder and pulled out her invisibility cloak which she rarely used. Reed had gifted it to her the previous year to help her “let loose and live a little.” April usually wasn’t one for sneaking around the castle but she knew that there were other prefects out patrolling and she couldn’t afford to damage her perfect record. 

Pulling the cloak over her head, April quietly exited the library and trudged down the hall towards the Ravenclaw dormitory. She took her little red notebook out of her pocket and began rereading her notes from the day. 

April squeaked suddenly as she slipped on an unknown object. She crashed to the ground, her face smashing into the hallway carpet. Her hand immediately flew to her nose and she anxiously wondered if it was broken. As she pushed herself up onto her elbows, her hand brushed against the thing she had slipped on. She picked it up. “ _ Lumos!” _ Her wand lit up and she studied the object in her hand. It was a long sycamore wand with a simple handle that she had seen her best friend wave a million times-

“Reed?” April asked, the name coming out in a croak. She pushed the cloak’s hood off of her head and held up her lit wand to inspect the corridor, looking around agitatedly. She screamed when she saw the stiff body of Reed Adamson and the blood smeared not far down the hallway. 

xxx 

After nearly an hour of regretting his words, Derek silently got dressed in the empty room, all the while cursing at himself for ruining a perfectly good night. 

“Thanks for nothing,” he muttered at the magical room. The curtains fluttered. 

Derek pulled on his cloak and left the Room of Requirement, the door shrinking into nothing behind him. In a terrible mood, he trudged back to the Ravenclaw Tower. He ran headfirst into April Kepner, a Ravenclaw a year below him, on his way. “Whoops, sorry April.” He said, grabbing her shoulders to steady himself. He then frowned. “What are you doing out here this late?”

She looked up at him with teary eyes. A choked sob came from her throat, her voice unable to form a comprehensible sentence. 

“April, what’s wrong?” Derek asked calmly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“You know, we’re both Muggleborns. We met on the train our first year and bonded over it. She’s from the city, I’m from a small farm in the countryside. I told her about pigs and she talked about skyscrapers. We met the boys sometime later but it’s always been me and her against the world. She’s done so much for me, I can’t even count all the things. So many people have called her bitchy or stuck-up, but that’s because they don’t know her. We were complete opposites, but somehow it worked. She’s my best friend. She  _ was _ my best friend, was, was, was-”

“Come on April, what’s going on? Who are you talking about?”

“Reed,” she finally choked out. “She’s dead.”

xxx 

“Something’s wrong,” Arizona said for the third time, pacing around the Hufflepuff Common Room. 

“What’s the matter, Princess? Trouble in paradise?” Charles Percy teased her as she walked past the couch he was studying on. 

“This is anything but paradise,” Arizona muttered, Callie suddenly coming to mind1. She shook her head to rid it of thoughts of Callie. “Something’s not right.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Charles sighed, not looking up from the book he was reading.

“I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Maybe you ate something funky at dinner?” Charles supplied unhelpfully.

Arizona gave him a fake smile that quickly became a frown when she saw who had just walked into the Common Room. “Callie?” She blinked twice. “What are you doing here?”

“How do you know our Common Room password,” Charles asked, baffled.

Callie went slack-jawed as Arizona approached her. Her stunned expression turned into a frown that matched Arizona’s perfectly. “What, you’re going to kick me out of your Common Room now?”

“I might,” Arizona said, her voice rising suddenly. “Why the hell are you here?”

“Catfight,” Charles mumbled, closing his textbook to watch the girls bicker.

Callie held up the book she was holding. “I borrowed this from Graciella, is she here?”

“And why are you dropping it off at,” Arizona checked her watch, “nearly midnight?”

“Because she needs it for her class tomorrow,” Callie responded through gritted teeth.

“And why didn’t you have somebody else drop it off?”

“Jesus Christ, Arizona! I’m dropping off a book, that’s it. Trust me, if I could avoid seeing you then I would!”

“You’re being so immature!”

“No you are!”

“Could we tone down the volume? Some people are trying to study,” Charles mumbled half-heartedly. The girls continued to bicker relentlessly. “No? Okay then.”

xxx 

“You have to get out of here, April,” Derek said urgently as he and April stood over the cold body of Reed Adamson.

“What?” April turned sharply to look at him. “No, I can’t leave her.” 

“Somebody killed her, April. They’ll kill us too if we keep standing here. We need to find Professor Burke, Headmaster Webber, somebody, anybody.”

“She’s my best friend,” April protested, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Please April, we have to go,” Derek said frantically. 

“Did you hear that?” April yelped suddenly. Derek slapped his hand over her mouth as he strained to listen to the voices in the distance. They sounded ugly and low, like men who weren’t supposed to be there.

“We have to get out of here,” Derek said nervously as he removed his hand from her mouth.

“There’s no time,” April hissed, rummaging around in her bag. “Where is that stupid-here it is!” She brandished an ornate cloak from her bag and threw it over her and Derek’s heads. She then pulled him into a crouching position so the two of them were completely covered.

“An invisibility cloak!” Derek marvelled, his eyes lighting up.

“Sssh!” April shushed him as the men rounded the corner.

“What do you mean we haven’t found him yet?” One of the cloaked figures hissed angrily. “We have one job to do, find Derek Shepherd, it’s not that difficult. How have none of us found him yet?”

“This is such a waste of time, can’t we just leave the kid alone?” Another whined. “A couple of newspaper articles written by a stupid student isn’t going to do much.”

“Shut up, Rowle. Any enemy of the Dark Lord is an enemy of us. And our job is to wipe out his enemies, you know that. Now quit your griping and split up to find that kid. Search all the halls first, we’ll move on to the dormitories if we can’t find anything.” 

The group of Death Eaters walked towards them and Derek felt his heart stop. “Looks like people have already been down here,” one of the men snorted, kicking Reed’s body with the toe of his boot. April growled from under the cloak and Derek nudged her. 

“Looks like it,” another Death Eater agreed. “Come on, let’s keep moving.” They walked past April and Derek and disappeared down another hallway.

“This isn’t good, this isn’t good,” April whimpered, looking up at Derek with wide eyes. “Oh, God, those people are Death Eaters! They’re going to kill you! They’re going to kill us all!”

“Shhh, no they’re not. April, you need to go back to Ravenclaw and make sure nobody leaves, I’ve got to go warn the other houses.”

“Are you joking?” April cried, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. “T-there are b-bad m-men here looking f-for you a-and y-you want t-to w-walk around t-the c-castle alone?” Her breathing suddenly became short and she clutched at her chest.

Derek took her by the shoulders. “April, listen to me, it’s going to be okay. I need you to be brave right now, okay? Use your cloak and go back to Ravenclaw. Can you do that?” She nodded shakily, wiping her cheeks.

“Good. I’ll see you very soon, okay? Now go.” Derek said gently, though there was a quiver to his voice. April threw her cloak over her head, cast one last look down at Reed, and disappeared completely out of sight.

“Be safe,” she whispered as she ran down the hall, avoiding the blood stains on the floor.

Derek ran to the Gryffindor Tower as fast as his feet would carry him. His heart was pounding but he wouldn’t stop running. He was angry with himself and he was angry at Meredith for being right. She had warned him and now a girl was dead. When he finally spotted the portrait of the Fat Lady, he began to knock on the wall as hard as he could.

xxx 

“What’s going on?” Owen sat up in his bed when he heard a banging noise coming from downstairs. His roommates mumbled incomprehendable words as they tossed and turned in their beds.

“Did you hear that?” He asked the closest boy to him who, in turn, covered his head with a pillow.

Owen decided that he was sure he could hear someone pounding on the wall downstairs. He shot out of bed, pulling his robes on over his pajamas. He stumbled out of the seventh year boy’s dormitory and nearly knocked over Jackson Avery, who had just emerged from the sixth year room. 

“Avery, what’s happening?” Owen asked, brandishing his wand.

“I don’t know,” Jackson answered sleepily, “I think it’s coming from the Common Room.”

“Get out of my way, you’re crowding the staircase!” A voice from above them scolded. Teddy was running down the stairs towards them, tugging at her dressing gown. She breezed past the two of them and headed for the Common Room. Owen and Jackson followed at her heels.

“What are you doing awake at this time?” Owen’s frown deepened. 

“Avery, have you seen Callie at all? She didn’t come to bed,” Teddy asked Jackson, promptly ignoring Owen. 

“Go back to bed, Teddy, Avery and I can handle this.”

“Like hell you can,” Teddy laughed. “It’s my duty to deal with this, I’m Head Girl after all.”

“Do you really have to bring that up again?”

“Go to hell!”

As Teddy and Owen bickered back and forth, Jackson finally opened the portrait hole. “Shepherd?” He said, confused, when he saw who it was.

“People have broken into the castle and they’re looking for me,” Derek said breathlessly.

“Excuse me?” Jackson asked, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline. 

“There are Death Eaters in the castle right now and there here for me,” Derek shouted.

“If people are looking for you then why the bloody hell are you here right now?” Jackson asked suspiciously.

“Listen to me, Avery! We aren’t safe, I need you to secure the Gryffindor House and tell Owen to alert Headmaster Webber immediately. Somebody else has to tell the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. Shouldn’t you stay here?” Jackson said, growing suddenly worried. 

“I have to make sure that everybody is safe, I can’t stay here. Avery, can you do this for me?”

“Have Hunt tell Webber, send somebody to warn the other houses, secure Gryffindor House,” 1Jackson repeated, his heart racing.

“Good. I believe in you, Avery, keep people safe.” Derek slapped his shoulder and stepped out of the portrait hole.

“And where are you going to go?” Jackson called out after him as the Head Boy sprinted away. “Shepherd? Shepherd!” When Derek didn’t answer, Jackson shakily closed the portrait hole and turned back to the fighting pair of seventh years. “Altman, Hunt, SHUT UP!” 

Teddy and Owen froze, mid-argument, to look at him. He took a deep breath and repeated Derek’s exact instructions.

“This must be a sick joke,” Owen said in disbelief.

“Please believe me,” Jackson practically begged him. “We have to do what Derek said. Owen, go tell the Headmaster what’s going on. Teddy, you need to make sure that Gryffindor house is secure. I’ll go tell the Hufflepuffs and then the Slytherins.”

“Absolutely not,” Teddy shook her head. “I’m Head Girl, I’ll go tell Headmaster Webber.”

“But Derek told me to tell Webber,” Owen argued.

“Then I’m coming with you. Avery, tell the sixth and seventh years what’s going on. Have Meredith stay here and secure the house. I heard Yang’s shrill voice coming from Meredith’s dorm so she must be here, have her run to Slytherin and tell them. When you’ve finished that, go warn the Hufflepuffs.”

Jackson nodded firmly. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Good, now go.” Teddy ordered and Jackson turned around, sprinting up the staircase. She looked at Owen. “Let’s go, Hunt. We have a mission.”

“After you,” Owen said, gesturing at the portrait hole. He followed her out of the Common Room and the two of them took off down the hall towards the Headmaster’s office.

“What do you think is going on down there?” Cristina asked from her spot perched on Meredith’s bed in the Gryffindor girl’s sixth year dormitory. 

“Who cares?” Meredith grumbled, splayed out on the floor.

“So much yelling you Gryffindors do,” Cristina complained. “The Slytherin dormitory is perfectly peaceful compared to this pig sty.”

“Liar,” Meredith snorted. “You, Karev and Adamson in the same place at the same time? I doubt there’s a minute of silence.”

“You’re just jealous of my fabulous dorm. But anyway, did he really ask you to marry him?” Cristina asked, leaning over the bed to look at Meredith. “You know I was joking this morning when I mentioned that.”

“Yes, the idiot actually proposed to me tonight,” Meredith said, annoyance in her voice. “Can you believe it? He knows I’m opposed to his reckless business yet he asks me to marry him? How dare he!”

“How dare he, indeed,” Cristina said, slightly amused. Meredith threw a pillow at her.

The dormitory door flew open suddenly, revealing Jackson Avery.

“Jackson! This is a girl’s dormitory!” Meredith shrieked, throwing a different pillow at him. Her roommates began to stir in the other beds, grumbling angrily.

“Isn’t your stupid staircase supposed to turn into a slide if any idiotic boys try to come up here?” Cristina asked, looking at Jackson suspiciously.

“There are Death Eaters in the castle and they’re looking for Shepherd,” Jackson said in an urgent voice, looking at Meredith. “I need you and Yang to come with me.”

“Derek?” Meredith jumped to her feet. “My Derek?”

“Death Eaters?” Cristina nearly fell off the bed. She rightened herself and stood up quickly. “You’re pulling our legs, Avery.”

“No I’m not, now come with me.” Jackson said tightly, taking them each by an arm and steering them out of the dormitory and down the staircase. 

“What is going on?” Meredith and Cristina yelled at the same time when they had made it to the empty Common Room.

Jackson repeated what Derek had told him. “And now I need you, Cristina, to go and warn your house about what is going on. Once you do that, secure your house. Barricade the door if you have to. I’m going to warn the Hufflepuffs. Meredith, you need to stay here and secure the dorm. Put up all the protective spells you know and keep the younger students safe.”

“No,” Meredith said firmly. “I need to go help Derek.”

“Meredith!” Jackson shouted. “You are the sixth year Gryffindor prefect, I need you to stay here and keep our house safe.”

“I can’t just stay here!” Meredith shouted back, tears suddenly appearing in her eyes.

“It’s okay, Mere,” Cristina said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take Meredith with me to the Slytherin dungeon, Avery you can find somebody else to secure the Gryffindor house. Who is the sixth year boy prefect?” Meredith opened her mouth to protest but Cristina jabbed her in the side.

“Dylan Young. Fine, fine, Grey you can go with Yang, I’ll tell Young what’s going on. Now go!” And with that, Jackson ran back up the stairs.

“Come on, Mere, you’re with me. We need to go,” Cristina said, pulling Meredith towards the portrait hole.

“I need to find Derek,” Meredith hissed as she crawled through the portrait hole. 

“I know, I know. Listen, we’ll go to my house and warn everybody and then we’ll go find Derek. Okay?” Cristina said, pulling Meredith down the hall.

Meredith nodded shakily. “Okay.”

xxx 

Lexie Grey was pissed. First her friend April had failed to meet her at 9 to study for Charms, then Alex didn’t show up like he had promised. So there she was, standing outside the Slytherin Dungeon, waiting for a boy who obviously wasn’t coming. 

“Asshole,” she muttered to herself, pushing herself off the wall. “You’re smarter than this, Lexie.” It was true, she was smarter than waiting there like a tool. Yet somehow she had let Slytherin boys get the best of her, on multiple occasions. Alex was her boyfriend, he was supposed to be there when he promised. And he wasn’t. “Fuck this,” she scowled and turned away. As sweet and kind as she was, Lexie Grey had a short temper and did not like to be stood up. 

“Lex?” A sleepy voice said from behind her.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Lexie hissed, screwing her eyes shut. She turned around to find Mark Sloan, her prick of an ex-boyfriend, staring at her from the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room.

“What do you want, Mark?” She asked tersely, crossing her arms.

“What do you mean?” His brow furrowed as he rubbed his eyes. “You’re the one who’s been loitering outside my Common Room for nearly an hour, according to Sadie.”

Lexie silently cursed her sister’s ex-friend for tattling to Mark. “It’s none of your business really, I was just leaving.”

“You weren’t waiting for Alex, were you?” Mark asked, his frown growing deeper.

“God, Mark!” Lexie threw her arms up. “You aren’t my boyfriend anymore, you can’t be jealous over stuff like this!” She spun around, storming up the staircase towards the Ravenclaw Tower. 

Mark walked up the stairs behind her. “I miss you, Lexie, please don’t be mad.”

“Why should I be mad?” Lexie said. “I’ve moved on, I have an amazing boyfriend now and he isn’t you.”

“An amazing boyfriend who had you waiting outside his Common Room for nearly an hour,” Mark reminded her as they continued climbing the staircase.

“Leave me alone, Mark! Is that too much to ask?”

“As a matter of fact, it is too much-” Mark was cut off when Lexie screamed as she nearly tripped over the bloody body of Alex Karev.

xxx 

Headmaster Richard Webber spilled ink all over the letter he was writing when a Patronus appeared out of thin air. It was a large lizard that he recognized as belonging to Head Auror Catherine Fox. it opened its mouth and spoke in her voice.

“Headmaster Webber, Hogwarts is under attack. We have a report from Knockturn Alley that several Death Eaters have used a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes to enter the school. They’re looking for a student of yours, Derek Shepherd. We’re sending Aurors over immediately to stop these Death Eaters. Alert your staff and keep your students safe, Help is on the way, Headmaster.” And with that, the patronus dissolved into the air.

Webber leapt to his feet, his chest suddenly tight from the panic gripping his body. He knew that he should have warned Derek Shepherd the first time he had published an article bashing You-Know-Who. And now his school was under attack. 

His office door suddenly flew open, revealing Teddy Altman and Owen Hunt.

“Headmaster, there are Death Eaters in the school,” Owen said, completely out of breath.

“I just got word from the Ministry, they’re sending Aurors over as soon as possible. Theodora, do you have any news from Derek Shepherd?” Webber asked hurriedly.

Teddy nodded slightly. “He came by the Gryffindor House and told us to alert you immediately. That was twenty minutes ago though, I don’t know where he is now but I think he was heading to Ravenclaw House.”

“That heroic, arrogant fool. He should’ve come to my office immediately,” Webber muttered, shaking his head. “Well it’s too late for that. Hunt, Altman, I’m requesting that you two stay locked in my office. Alert the Heads of Houses by contacting them via Floo Powder. When you’ve finished that, alert the other professors and Madam Pomfrey. Keep the door barricaded, don’t let anybody in. Can you do this for me?”

“But Sir-” Teddy and Owen began to object.

Webber held up his hand. “I asked, can you do this for me?” His voice was deathly calm.

“Yes, Sir,” Owen sighed in defeat.

“But Headmaster, I’m the Head Girl,” Teddy protested and Owen rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t I be helping in some other way?”

“You’ll be helping by staying safe and alerting the Heads of Houses. I’m about to leave my office and when I do, neither of you will follow me. Don’t try to leave.” When the two Gryffindors didn’t protest, he nodded curtly. “Good, I’m glad I can count on the two of you. Stay safe.” And with that, Headmaster Richard Webber was out the door and running through the halls.

xxx 

The knocking on the Hufflepuff Common Room door caused Callie and Arizona to finally stop yelling at each other. Callie opened the door and Jackson Avery practically tumbled into the Hufflepuff Common Room.

Charles unplugged his ears gratefully. “Avery!” He said pleasantly. “To what do we owe the pleasure? I would’ve cleaned the place up had I known you were coming.” 

“Hogwarts is under attack,” Jackson Avery panted, leaning against an armchair. “Do you hear me?” He yelled as the three of them stared at him, dumbfounded.

Arizona was the first to recover. “I knew something was wrong,” she said shakily.

“There’s no way in hell you could’ve predicted this,” Charles scoffed. “I’m telling you, it was something weird you ate at dinner, not some psychic power you randomly possess.”

“There is no time for jokes right now,” Jackson said, a wild look in his eyes. “We need to secure your house immediately. The Death Eaters could be anywhere by now! Grey and Yang are warning the Slytherins and Hunt and Altman are alerting the Headmaster.”

“Wait a second,” Callie said, panic creeping into her voice. If you’re here and those four are spread out across the school then who’s protecting the Gryffindors right now?”

“You left your house unprotected?” Charles practically shouted at Avery.

“No, no! Dylan Young is taking care of things,” Jackson said and Charles and Callie immediately relaxed. He suddenly frowned. “Wait, what are you doing here, Torres?”

“My God, there isn’t time for this right now!” Arizona said sternly, suddenly going commando. “Charles, I need you to go tell Bailey about this situation and bring her here as soon as possible.”

“Me?” Charles asked, dumbfounded, pointing at himself.

“Percy, go!” Arizona shouted. Charles nodded promptly and ran out the door, slapping Jackson’s shoulder as he went. 

“My God, Avery, are you sure this isn’t a joke?” Callie asked, rubbing her hands together nervously.

“Positive,” Jackson said seriously. His eyes fell on the table next to the couch and he groaned. “Shit! Charles left his wand!”

“What’s going on?” A small voice piped up. The three of them turned to see several first and second year Hufflepuffs staring at them from the staircase. All of them were dressed for bed and all of them had terrified expressions on their faces.

Arizona immediately went to them, wrapping them in her arms. “It’s okay,” she soothed, everything is going to be okay. I need you all to be brave, can you do that for me?” They nodded hesitantly and she gave them a watery smile. “Good. Now I want all of you to go back to your dormitories, okay?”

“Put them all in one dormitory,” Callie supplied and Arizona turned to look at her. “Put all the first, second and third years together in one dorm. Fourth through seventh years should go in another dorm. That way we can keep track of everybody and make sure they’re all safe.”

“Are you crazy,” Jackson scoffed, “that’s a terrible idea-”

“No, wait,” Arizona held up her hand, staring at Callie. “That’s a great idea. Genius, really.” She turned back to the kids and addressed them. “Alright kiddos, I want all of you to go into the third year girl’s dorm and stay there, I’ll be up there in a minute. Got it?” She instructed. They nodded and ran up the staircase to do what they were told. She turned back to Callie and Avery. “Torres, I need you to move all of the upperclassmen into a fourth year dormitory right now, okay?”

“Torres?” Callie muttered to herself, but she climbed up the staircase nevertheless.

Arizona turned back to Jackson and gave him a tight smile. “Alright, Avery, let’s hope you’re as nifty with a wand as people say you are. I want all the protection spells you know.”

xxx 

“Finally!” Lexie nearly sobbed in relief as they rounded a corner and saw the Hospital Wing in the distance. “Hurry up, Mark, he’s dying,” she said as the two of them quickened their pace, Alex Karev supported between them.

“I’m trying, Karev weighs a million pounds,” Mark groaned.

They finally arrived at their destination. Mark began to pull the Hospital Wing door open as Lexie took most of Alex’s weight by herself. The doors swung open and Mark pulled Alex and Lexie into the Hospital Wing.

“Here, put him here,” Lexie said, nodding at the closest bed on the left side. They gently lowered Alex onto the mattress as Madam Pomfrey burst out of her bedroom, tying her dressing gown as she hurried over to the trio.

“Heavens, what happened?” She cried, inspecting Alex’s injuries.

“Poppy, it’s always a pleasure to see you,” Mark addressed her. He looked down, for the first time, at his blood spattered pajamas and made a face.

“I don’t know what happened, we found him like this,” Lexie babbled, tears streaking down her face. “It could’ve been a spell or a knife or…I don’t know! Oh God, can you help him?” She asked, tugging on Madam Pomfrey’s sleeve.

“Lexie, dear, I need you to run over to that cabinet over there and bring me all the Blood-Replenishing Potions you can find, he’s lost a lot of blood,” Madam Pomfrey commanded. Lexie nodded shakily and ran to the cabinet that the nurse had pointed at. “This was done by no knife, this was done by dark magic,” Madam Pomfrey murmured as she cast different spells over Alex’s side.

“So you’re saying Karev was attacked by dark magic?” Mark asked, brows furrowed. 

“Who could’ve done that?” Lexie cried as she returned, arms full of bottles of the requested potion.

“This was done by dark magic,” Madam Pomfrey repeated as she opened Alex’s mouth and poured the potion into his trembling mouth. “Dark magic that no student could know.”

“What, are you saying that there’s people in the castle?” Mark asked, shocked. The look that the nurse gave him was all the answer he needed.

xxx 

“She’s dead,” Cristina said, dropping the wrist of the unknown Hufflepuff girl. “Must’ve been hit by the killing curse, I doubt she suffered much. Come on, let’s go before we find any more dead bodies.”

“We can’t just leave her here,” Meredith protested weakly, but she knew that Cristina was right, there was nothing they could do for her. 

“We’re going to have to, we’ll come back later for her,” Cristina said, pulling Meredith up and pushing her down the hall.

“I’m going to kill Derek!” Meredith fumed, regaining her footing and stomping angrily across the carpet.

“Calm down, Bigfoot!” Cristina sprinted after her. 

“I knew this would happen! Did I not tell you that this would happen?! And now that poor girl back there is dead because of it.”

“You sure told me,” Cristina said in an attempt to placate her friend.

“I’m going to kill him!” Meredith repeated.

“Wait, I think I hear somebody!” Cristina gasped, stopping in her tracks. 

Meredith shut her mouth and drew her wand. “You’re right, I hear something too. If it’s those Death Eaters looking for Derek, I’m going to murder them-”

“Wait,” Cristina frowned, lowering her wand as the source of the noise rounded a corner. “Isn’t that-”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Derek asked frantically, running towards them. 

“Derek!” Meredith threw herself into his arms. “I’m sorry we fought, I’m sorry I got mad at you, please tell me you’re okay,” she babbled. 

“You can’t be here,” Derek muttered, herding her and Cristina into a dark broom closet. “Stay here, I’ll come for you when it’s safe.”

“Derek, no,” Meredith moaned. “Stay with us, don’t go out there.”

“You can’t just leave us here,” Cristina seethed. “We’re supposed to be warning my house right now.”

“I’ll go tell the Slytherins, you two need to stay here until I come to get you. I’ll be back before you know it,” Derek said, kissing Meredith swiftly before closing the door and locking it behind him.

“Well we can’t just stay here,” Cristina said angrily, leaning on a dusty shelf. “I have to get back to my house and tell Alex and Reed.” She stopped for a moment and her face fell. “Oh God, oh God, they were on prefect rounds tonight. What if they’re in danger? What if they’re dead?” She looked at Meredith frantically. “We have to get out of here.”

“I can’t let Derek do this,” Meredith wailed. “I can’t, I can’t.  _ Alohomora!”  _ The door that Derek had locked clicked open and Meredith and Cristina tumbled out of the broom closet. They picked themselves up and sprinted in the direction that Derek had gone.

xxx 

“Professor Bailey!” Professor Bailey, Head of Hufflepuff, looked up from the Herbology essays she was grading to see Charles Percy, a sixth year in her house, panting in her doorway. His clothes were rumpled and there was no sight of a wand in either of his hands. 

“What is it, Percy?” She sighed, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“There are Death Eaters in the castle and they’re looking for Derek Shepherd,” Charles said breathlessly. 

“Excuse me? You better not be playing games, Percy,” Bailey said skeptically, setting her glasses down. 

“This is no joke, ma’am, they’re looking for Derek Shepherd. Arizona told me to alert you immediately-”

“ _ Sectumsempra!”  _ A voice cried from outside Bailey’s office. Charles screamed as he fell face first into her room, blood spewing out of his side furiously. 

“Percy!” Bailey gasped, jumping to her feet and knocking over her chair in the process. 

“ _ Expelliarmus!” _ The same voice shouted and Bailey felt her wand leave her hand. An unfamiliar man snatched it out of the air as he entered her office. He purposely stepped on the moaning Charles as he approached Bailey. 

“Professor Bailey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” The man chuckled as he snapped her wand in half. She winced as he slipped the pieces into his pocket and patted it. The man was unfamiliar to her, too old to be a student but too young to be a teacher. All she knew from his threatening expression and sleek robes was that he was a Death Eater. A Death Eater who had no business being in Hogwarts.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” The man asked, a frown appearing on his face. “Come on, Professor Bailey, I was in your Herbology class for six whole years, surely you haven’t forgotten?”

Bailey kept her mouth shut and her eyes forward, glaring at the Death Eater. There was something in his face that she could recognize. Images of an angry Slytherin student always sitting in the back of her class came to mind. “Rowland Rowle,” she said suddenly, her voice quivering slightly. “It has been a long time.”

Rowle’s face split into an evil smile. “There you go, Professor B, I knew that you would remember.” Something inside Bailey snapped. Only her favorite students got to call her Professor B.

“Clark, let’s go! We’re wasting time!” A voice called from outside of Bailey’s office. 

Rowle lowered his wand and smirked at Bailey. “You got lucky this time, Professor B.” He slowly backed out of her classroom, once again treading over Charles. He closed the door and Bailey could hear his say, “ _ Colloportus! _ ” The lock clicked, trapping Bailey and Charles in her office.

Bailey nearly fell over her desk as she ran to Charles. “Percy!” She sobbed slightly, turning him onto his side. He wailed in pain.

“Oh God, oh God, am I dying, Professor B?” Charles gasped, his breathing ragged and sharp. Bailey felt her heart ache at the nickname. 

“Listen to me, Charles, you are going to be okay. That man took my wand and locked us in here but I am going to make sure that you stay alive, okay?” Bailey said firmly and Charles nodded slightly, wincing as blood continued to seep out of his major wound. 

Bailey frantically looked around her office, her eyes landing on the curtains covering her window. She leaned over from her place on the floor and tugged at them. When they didn’t budge she tugged harder until they came off the rod. Gathering up the fabric, she turned back to Charles. “Alright, Charles, I’m going to try and stop the bleeding as best as I can without magic. This is going to hurt.” And with that, Bailey pressed the fabric onto the gaping wound on her student’s side. Charles whimpered, his eyes fluttering shut. “You’re not dying on me today, Percy,” Bailey said through gritted teeth.

xxx 

“We’re out of Floo Powder,” Teddy cursed suddenly from the floor of Headmaster Webber’s office.

Owen looked at her with wide eyes. “What? There’s no way we can be, we still haven’t contacted Professor Bailey, Madam Pomfrey, or Hagrid!”

“I’m telling you, we’re out.” 

“Why didn’t you use a Doubling Charm to make more Floo Powder?” Owen asked furiously.

“It’s Floo Powder, Owen. You can’t magically tamper with Floo Powder,” Teddy said, clearly agitated.

“But what if Professor B is in trouble? And what about Madam Pomfrey? We need to let her know that she might need to prepare for injured students coming to the Hospital Wing.”

“Owen!” Teddy cried and Owen shut his mouth. “Listen, we’ve already told Hahn, Burke, Warren, and the other professors. They know and they’re going to help. We’ve followed all of Webber’s orders, there’s nothing else we can do.”

Owen shook his head. “Screw it, I’ve got to go tell them,” he leapt to his feet. 

Teddy turned away from the fireplace to look at him. “Don’t go, Hunt, it’s dangerous out there.”

“I’ve got to go!” Owen burst out.

Teddy looked at him with sad eyes. “This is about Cristina, isn’t it? She’s out there somewhere and you want to go find her.” Owen froze, one hand on the doorknob. He turned around to look at her and she nodded. “It’s okay to choose.”

Owen let out a sigh and nodded, a non-verbal thank you that Teddy understood. He was out the door in a matter of seconds.

xxx 

“We shouldn’t have sent Charles alone,” Jackson muttered to Arizona as they stood in the Hufflepuff Common Room, wands at the ready. “What if something happened to him?”

“He’ll be fine,” Arizona said in a firm voice. “You made it to Hufflepuff safely, didn’t you?” 

“I guess so,” Jackson murmured.

“Fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years are all secured in the girl’s fourth year dormitory,” Callie said as she dismounted the staircase.

“Okay good,” Arizona nodded, trying to calm herself down. “Jackson and I put up every protection spell we know. And who knows if they’re even coming? They should’ve been here by now, maybe we’re safe.”

“Arizona?” A small voice said from behind them. Arizona turned around to find one of the tiny first years looking up at her with big eyes.

“Ruby!” She gasped. “You need to go back and wait with the others.”

“But I’m scared,” the little girl mumbled.

“It’s much safer upstairs, I promise you that.” Arizona said soothingly, taking her hand.

Callie approached the pair and crouched in front of Ruby. “Ruby, is it?” The little girl nodded, rubbing her eyes. “Arizona is going to take very good care of you, okay? She’s one of the bravest people I know and she’s not going to let anything happen to you. I’ve seen her do so many amazing things, you can trust that she’ll keep you safe. Can you go back upstairs with everybody else? Arizona will be right behind you.”

“Okay,” Ruby said as Arizona gaped at Callie.

“Hold up, I think I hear people outside,” Jackson said suddenly, holding up one hand. 

“What’s going on?” Ruby said, confused. Arizona put a hand over her mouth, the other gently rubbing her back.

“Finally, the stupid Hufflepuff House,” a muffled voice said from outside the dorm. “Took long enough to find.”

“Yeah, yeah. Oi, Hufflepuffs! Open the door for us now!” Another voice called out.

“We know you’re in there, open this door and we won’t have a problem.”

Callie, Arizona and Jackson stared at one another with wide eyes, not making a sound. Arizona shook her head slightly.

“Open this door!” One of the men pounded on the wooden door.

Still no answer.

“I’m tired of waiting,  _ Reducto!”  _ The Common Room wall shook slightly. Jackson crept slightly closer, wand held aloft.

“That’s not going to do anything, idiot. We’re in Hogwarts so of course the dorms are gonna be protected. Try something stronger, like this.  _ Expulso!”  _ Once again, the wall shook and emitted a bit of dust but did not fall. 

“No wait, I’ve got it.  _ Confringo!”  _ Jackson flew backwards into the couch as the wall right in front of him exploded. Callie shrieked and threw her arms around Ruby and Arizona, pulling them to the ground and covering them with her body. Through the dust caused by the explosion, two shadowy figures stepped over the rubble.

“That’s more like it,” one of them laughed.

“You. You don’t happen to know where Derek Shepherd is, do you?” The other asked, pointing his wand at Callie.

“We don’t know where he is, please leave,” She said, a slight quiver in her voice.

“Here’s the thing, I don’t believe you,” the man sneered, drawing his wand.

“Please,” Callie stumbled to her feet, holding up her hands. “He stopped by the Gryffindor Common Room not too long ago. He said that he was going to the Ravenclaw Tower, I swear that’s what he told us.” The man squinted at her and she repeated, “I promise, that’s what he said. We haven’t seen him since. He hasn’t come here once tonight.”

“Now that wasn’t to hard now, was it?” The man said, lowering his wand, nodding at his companion to do the same. “Glad you had enough sense to give up your friend. Let’s go to Ravenclaw, Emory.” And with that, the two Death Eaters stepped over the destroyed Common Room wall and into the hallway.

Emory turned around and looked back at them, lifting his wand. “ _ Protego Diabolica! _ ” He shouted, monstrous blue flames erupting from his wand. The flames surrounded the destroyed wall, climbing higher and higher. Through the fire, Callie could see the man smirking. “Don’t even try to get through these, you’ll be incinerated on the spot.” The Death Eaters laughed as they disappeared from sight.

Callie sighed, practically falling to her knees in relief. Arizona finally lifted her head and looked up, wide-eyed and scared. Ruby was whimpering next to her and she held the little girl tightly.

Jackson pushed himself into a sitting position, winching all the while. He looked at Callie with an expression of disbelief. “I can’t believe you told them.”

“They were going to murder us all,” Callie said, defending her actions.

“I can’t believe you told them,” he repeated as he thought about Ravenclaw House and April Kepner.

xxx 

“Fox!” Headmaster Webber sighed in relief when he opened the large doors of the Entrance Hall, revealing twenty or so Aurors.

“Richard, it’s always a pleasure,” Catherine Fox cooed, then her face turned serious. “I need eight of you to split up and go to each of the houses and make sure the students are safe. The rest of you are coming with me and the Headmaster.”

The group of Aurors nodded and split, four small groups sprinted in different directions toward each of the Hogwarts house dormitories. 

“Good,” Catherine said tightly. She turned to one of her colleagues. “Stark, if you will?”

An Auror stepped forward, holding an ornate wooden box. He pulled out the key and unlocked the box, brandishing a large, folded piece of paper.

“That isn’t…” Headmaster Webber said, mouth agape.

“You know it is, Richard, the Marauder’s Map,” Catherine said, excitement in her voice. “It’s been confiscated in the Department of Mysteries for too many years, it’s really quite useful. It took a lot of convincing but the Minister finally agreed to let us bring it along.” She waved her wand and chanted, “ _ I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. _ ” Ink patterns and lines burst over the page until the full silhouette of Hogwarts was visible on the map. “There,” Catherine said, pointing to one name. “Derek Shepherd. And it looks like he’s got company.”

xxx 

“There he is!” A voice echoed off the walls. Derek, exactly one flight of stairs away from his Common Room entrance, froze and drew his wand. 

“Derek Shepherd, have we a bone to pick with you,” the voice chuckled, coming closer and closer. Derek peered down the stairs to see three Death Eaters running up the stairs towards him. He turned to run down a corridor only to see that it’s entrance was blocked by six more Death Eaters. He was trapped. 

“Try to run and you’re in trouble,” another said, approaching him slowly. “If I could, I would kill you right now, Shepherd. But I wouldn’t dare take that honor away from the Dark Lord.” 

“That’s pretty cowardly, don’t you think?” Derek said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. “I mean, he sent you instead of coming himself. Seems like something only a scared person would do.”

“Shut your mouth,” one of the Death Eaters snarled as the other eight pointed their wands at him. 

Derek immediately held up his hands in defeat. He wished that he could take it all back, all of his mistakes. He wished he could take back everything he had written, and all the mean things he had ever said to anybody. He wished he hadn’t accepted the Head Boy title when Owen was the one who should’ve had it. He regretted hiding his feelings for Meredith for so long and he regretted asking her to marry him in a time of panic. He wished he could have taken it all back, all except for his love for Meredith Grey. 

“There he is!” Cristina shouted as she and Meredith sprinted out of a corridor and onto a railed platform facing the Ravenclaw staircase.

“No!” Meredith shrieked as she watched five Stunner Spells hit her boyfriend. Cristina threw her arms around her best friend, dragging her to a crouching position behind the railing as Meredith screamed and screamed. 

“There!” Catherine Fox and Headmaster Webber ran into sight, followed by a dozen Aurors. They immediately jumped into the fight, tossing spell after spell as the Death Eaters dispersed. They chased after them.

“Derek? Is that you? I thought I heard your voice,” April said as she descended the stairs outside of the Ravenclaw Common Room entrance. She came to a halt, blinking in surprise, as she saw the battle raging on the staircase and through the halls. Her eyes drifted to the body a couple of steps below her and screamed. “Oh God, Derek! No, please no!” She fell to her knees, reaching for him. “No!”

“Get up, girl! Don’t touch him!” A voice commanded her angrily. April raised her head to see a Death Eater standing on the staircase landing, pointing his wand directly at her. “I said get up!” He shouted. 

She quickly obeyed him, lip quivering all the while. “M-my name is April Kepner. I’m sixteen years old and I was born on April 23rd in Devonshire. I’m from a town called Ottery St Catchpole a-and my father is a f-farmer.” April watched as several professors suddenly spilled into the hall behind the Death Eater. She made eye contact with Professor Hahn and continued, watching as Hahn ran towards her. “I-I have three sisters! There’s Libby, the oldest, then me, and then there’s Kimmy and Alice and-”

April was cut off as Professor Hahn stunned the Death Eater. He fell backwards over the railing and out of sight. She looked at Hahn with wide eyes and nodded. “T-thank you.”

Professor Hahn nodded back. “Good work, Kepner. Now get somewhere safe,” she said before chasing after a different Death Eater.

“I have to get to him,” Meredith choked out from her spot on the platform. “I-I have to make sure he’s alright.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks furiously.

“You stay here, Mere, you aren’t stable enough. I’ll go check on him,” Cristina said, standing up from the floor. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Cristina, no!” Meredith said angrily, tugging on her robes. “I’m the one who should go-”

“Oh God, Cristina?” A startled voice from behind them said. 

“Owen?” Meredith and Cristina gasped in unison.

xxx 

From her spot hovered over Alex in the Hospital Wing, Lexie suddenly heard a scream from outside. She reached for her wand immediately. “Mark, can you keep working on Alex by yourself?” She said, standing up from her previously hunched position. Madam Pomfrey was rummaging around her office looking for a book about dark magic curses.

Mark immediately looked at Lexie worriedly. “What? Where do you think you’re going?” He asked anxiously, dabbing Alex’s wound with gauze.

“I’ll be right back,” Lexie promised, leaving Alex’s bedside and running out of the Hospital Wing. She burst out into the hall and closed the doors before Mark could say another word. As they swung shut, she spun on her heels, wand outstretched. An unfamiliar man was hovered over a twitching body on the ground. He looked up, wand held promptly in front of him. He laughed when he saw Lexie.

“And what do you think you’re doing, missy?” The strange man asked, stepping over the body and approaching Lexie.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Lexie said shakily, craning her neck to look at the body. She could see the crimson red lining the robes, indicating a Gryffindor. She bit back a sob, hoping it wasn’t Meredith.

“Wait, I know you. You’re one of those Grey girls, aren’t you?”

Lexie bit her lip but stayed silent.

“Yeah, you’re definitely one of them. Thatcher Grey’s kid. Your father was the one who had me locked up in Azkaban for eleven years,” the man said, anger seeping into his voice.

“You’re a Death Eater,” Lexie said, her photographic memory suddenly kicking in. “Gary Clark. My father locked you away for killing six Muggles.”

“Good memory,” the Death Eater gave a humorless laugh as he came closer. “And now I’m going to kill you.”

“But I’m not a Muggleborn.”

“Makes no difference to me,” the man said, raising his wand. 

“ _ Stupefy!”  _ An Auror suddenly rounded the corner, stunning Clark. The Death Eater fell forward, his head resting right at Lexie’s feet. The Auror looked at the body of the Gryffindor on the ground and then at Lexie. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” She asked Lexie as they both ran to the Gryffindor.

“I’m okay,” Lexie gasped out. “Is he going to be alright?” She asked, looking at the boy on the floor. She secretly sighed in relief that it wasn’t her sister laying on the floor.

“I don’t know,” the Auror said tersely. She surveyed their surroundings, her eyes landing on the Hospital Wing. “Can you levitate him into the Hospital Wing?” Lexie nodded unsurely. “Good girl. I want you to bring him in and stay there until we come to get you. Can you do that?” 

Lexie nodded a second time. She stood up and pointed her wand at the Gryffindor, casting the spell. The stiff body rose up into the air. The Auror opened the Hospital Wing doors for Lexie and she moved the body with her wand onto a bed. 

“What’s going on?” Mark asked, jumping to his feet.

“Stay put,” The Auror said, shutting the doors behind her.

xxx 

“I’m d-dying, aren’t I?” Charles asked Professor Bailey through hooded eyes. It was the fourth time he had asked and it was becoming more true every time.

“Look at me,” she commanded, “you need to stop asking me that. Got it?” 

He shook his head meekly. “That means I am, doesn’t it?”

As she dabbed furiously at his wound with the bloody curtain, she felt something wet on her hands. “What the-what is this water?” She looked up at the ceiling, as if expecting to see a water leak.

“Those are tears, Professor B, you’re crying,” Charles let out a shaky sigh. “Does that mean I’m dying? Am I dying right now?” He asked once again.

Professor Bailey sighed and she wiped at her eyes. She looked down at Charles sadly. “Yes Charles, you are dying.” His face crumpled and tears sprung to his eyes. “But I am not going to leave you, I’m staying right here beside you, okay? I’m staying with you the whole time. You are not alone, Charles.” He gave a slight nod and she grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. “You are not alone.”

“It’s okay, Professor B, it doesn’t really hurt anymore,” Charles let out a breathy laugh, looking up at her. “Can you do something for me, Professor?”

“Anything,” Professor Bailey replied, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

“Can you find Reed when this is all over? Reed Adamson, she’s a Slytherin.”

“I know her,” Bailey said, nodding.

“Can you find her? I’ve a-always had a crush on her. I’ve always had a crush on her and I don’t think she knows.”

“She knows,” Bailey weeped, squeezing his hand tighter. “Girls always know.” She gave him a watery smile.

Charles smiled back as best as he could and nodded slightly. “Can you find her anyway? Find her and tell her I loved her.” His voice caught and more tears flowed out. “I loved her so much,” he choked out.

“Okay.”

“Y-you tell her, you tell her I was a great guy, a real catch. T-tell her she missed out on a great guy. W-will you tell her I was brave? Even though I cried?”

“You’ve been very brave,” Bailey said confidently. “Very, very brave. I’m the one who’s been crying and being a coward. I just stood there and let that Death Eater take my wand.” 

“Y-you did the right thing, you were smart. I wish I were that smart.” Charles gasped suddenly, his eyes rolling slightly. “T-tell her I loved h-her, you won’t forget?”

“I won’t forget,” Bailey promised, her voice quivering. “I won’t forget.”

Charles let out a tiny laugh. “I know y-you d-don’t like m-me very much.” Bailey scoffed and began to protest but he cut her off. “You d-don’t like m-me b-but you were a-always my favorite professor. I just thought you should k-know…” He trailed off as his eyes went blank.

Bailey held his hand until he stopped breathing. She sucked in a breath as his hand went limp. He was dead, just like that. She was his favorite professor, he had said. His favorite professor who would sometimes lash out at him in class or give him detention for pulling pranks in the halls. She recalled giving him detention one time for staring at the back of that girl’s head, Reed, so intensely that he didn’t hear Bailey asking him an Herbology question. She knew about his crush since the beginning. Charles was in her house for six entire years and Bailey would hardly give him the time of day. But she was his favorite nevertheless. 

“I was honored to be your professor, Charles,” Bailey whispered, looking up at the sky. She thought about Reed and how when she saw her, she was going to give her a slap on the head for being so oblivious. 

  
  


xxx 

“I have to get to Derek,” Cristina told Meredith and Owen as the battle around them raged on down the staircase and through the halls

“Let me go,” Meredith moaned, tears drying on her cheeks.

“You’re in shock, Mere. The best thing you can do is to stay right here until you snap out of it,” Cristina said, turning to go. “I’ll come back for you soon.” And with that, she beelined towards Derek and April.

Owen watched her go, helplessly. He ran a hand through his hair and turned around, suddenly noticing that Meredith was glaring up at him. “What?”

“Go after her, coward! Keep her safe and go after her!” Meredith cried, rolling her eyes.

“Aren’t you supposed to hate me right now?” Owen let out a brief laugh.

Meredith shook her head. “I’m too busy hating Derek right now.”

Owen gave her a pat on her head. “Stay here, Grey.” He sprinted after Cristina. By the time he got to her she was kneeling over Derek, holding his wrist.

“April, you’re in shock right now, you need to go back to your Common Room,” Cristina said in a frustrated voice, trying to move April out of danger. The Ravenclaw wouldn’t budge.

“April,” Owen grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. He turned her around and pointed at where Meredith sat up against a wall. “I need you to go sit with Meredith right now, can you do that for me?” April looked at him with wide eyes and gave a quick nod. “Good. Now run over there and don’t get hit by any spells.” Owen gave her a slight push and she darted down the stairs and across the landing, heading towards Meredith. 

“I was making progress without you here,” Cristina huffed, not looking at him. She felt at Derek’s wrist again. “There’s a pulse, thank God.”

“Good,” Owen joined her on his knees on the step, looking over Derek. “What happened to him?”

“He was hit by a shit-ton of Stunner Spells,” Cristina replied in a monotone, pulling her wand from her sleeve. “ _ Rennervate!” _ The Reviving Spell failed to work. “ _ Rennervate!” _ Nothing. “Goddammit! Why isn’t this working?”

“Cristina, calm down. He’s alive, that’s good enough for now.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” She shouted, glaring at him. “Don’t you ever tell me to calm down!” He shut his mouth and she continued. “I had a right to know, you know. I had a right to know about all this stuff with Teddy.” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he muttered, looking down at his hands. 

“Yeah? You should be! How dare you keep this from me!” Cristina shouted, waving her arms. “Why’d you do it? Why’d you do it, huh? Was it because you wanted to try things out with Teddy? Maybe you wanted to keep me as a second option? In case things didn’t work out between you two? Is that why?”

“Bloody hell, Cristina, it’s because I love you!” Owen finally shouted. Cristina stopped her yelling and stared at him, slack-jawed. “I love you, not Teddy.” he said again in a softer voice.

“I love you too,” she said softly. He gave her a small smile, caressing her cheek.

“Stop crying,” Meredith hissed, glaring at April. The two of them sat up against a hallway wall, safely seated away from the battle. April looked at her tearfully and whimpered. “I’m serious, stop crying. It took me a long time to realize that I wanted him and now he’s over there on the stairs, shot down by five Stunning Spells. I mean, can a person even survive five Stunning Spells? I should be over there with Cristina and Owen, helping him. But instead I’m stuck here with you. So you  _ do not _ get to cry.”

There was a long period of silence between them. “Reed was my best friend and she died today,” April finally choked out, wiping furiously at her cheeks. Meredith looked at her with sad eyes. She took April’s hand in her own, squeezing it. April squeezed back.

“Kepner! Grey!” Headmaster Webber shouted, running down the hall towards them. The girls jumped to their feet. He grabbed them by the shoulders when he had reached them. “Thank God you’re both alright.”

“Richard,” Meredith sobbed, throwing her arms around him. 

“It’s alright,” Webber said, patting her back. “The Aurors have managed to take down most of the Death Eaters so far, we’re going to be okay.”

“What about Derek?” April asked shakily, pointing to the staircase.

“Shepherd!” Webber said, suddenly remembering. He looked to where Cristina and Owen were huddled around Derek. He could see a Death Eater approaching them and his blood ran cold. “Hell no, not on my watch!” He let go of Meredith and dashed towards the staircase, April and Meredith following close at his heels. The Death Eater was in a Body-Bind Curse before he could lay a hand on Webber’s students.

“Headmaster Webber,” Cristina gasped as he fell to his knees beside them. “He’s alive but he’s not waking up!” Meredith put a hand over her mouth to hide a sob and April rubbed her back.

Webber brandished his wand and drew it back and forth above Derek, muttering incantations that were unknown to his students.

“Come on, Derek,” Meredith whispered, clutching her boyfriend’s hand.

“Come on, Shepherd,” Owen muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as Webber continued his spell. 

It took exactly three minutes of silence except for Webber chanting to bring back Derek Shepherd. He gasped for breath, his eyes flying open. He surveyed the five people huddled over him, a look of confusion on his face. “W-what’s going on?”

Meredith threw herself at him, wrapping him in the tightest hug she could muster. “Oh, God! You’re alive!” April joined the hug, pressing her cheek against Derek’s shoulder. Owen looked at Cristina and pulled her into the huddle despite her protests. Headmaster Webber was the last to join.

“We’re okay now,” Webber said, holding his students in his arms as the fighting around them ceased. “We’re okay.” He watched Professor Warren take down the last Death Eater standing and exhaled in relief. “We’re okay.”


End file.
